When Doc Emrick mentioned at the end of the NHL All*Star Game that they were thinking about tweaking the format, my first thought was "Why?" The four-division 3-on-3 tournament has been fantastic, far better than any 5-on-5 incarnation of the event, so why mess with something that's working? And what could they possibly come up with to replace it?
But now that two weeks have passed, more details have come out. And they have to do with the never-ending saga of the NHL's Olympic participation. Which makes the idea that's been thrown around the most--some sort of international 3x3 event--suddenly make a lot more sense.
To be clear, I'm NOT in favor of any sort of international element at the NHL All*Star Game. The big problem when they did the North America vs. the World format from 1998-2002 is that a majority of NHL players are either Canadian or American, so the World team was drawing from a much smaller pool of players.
I also wonder how you'd decide what your teams for this international 3x3 tournament would be. Part of what makes the current format work is that there are four teams, so it works perfectly to have the first two 20-minute "games" be semifinals before the third period is the final. But there are significantly more than four nations represented in the NHL. They'd obviously have to have a Team Canada and Team USA, but what about the other two? "Team Europe" would be an easy one, but it would also be a cop out with so many Czechs and Swedes and Russians and Finns. And that still doesn't solve the problem of the fourth team.
Apparently those discussions came about because the NHL and the NHLPA couldn't come to an agreement about the next World Cup of Hockey. The original idea was to hold the tournament next February, but with the CBA expiring after the 2021-22 season, that's no longer on the table. Instead, they're targeting 2024 for the next World Cup (an event that's 24 years old and has been held a grand total of three times!).
Those discussions are what led to the talks about changing up the All*Star Game format. The players like the 3-on-3 and they like the $1 million that goes to the winners, but playing for divisional pride (where they're teammates with a lot of guys they don't particularly like from rival teams) doesn't get them going the way playing for their countries does. Which is why the Union seems to be in favor of giving the All*Star Game "a distinct international flavor."
Which brings us to the elephant in the room. The Olympics. The players love going to the Olympics and representing their countries. The IOC and IIHF love it, since NHL players are the best hockey players on the planet. The fans love it, too. The only people who don't seem to love it are Gary Bettman and his bosses, the NHL owners. Who, unfortunately, are the only ones with any power in the situation.
After playing in every Winter Olympics from 1998-2014, the NHL didn't send its players to PyeongChang. The league had some issues with the IIHF and IOC that it was able to use as its excuse, with Bettman also claiming that the two-week Olympic break was "too disruptive" to the season. (Although, it should be noted that the NHL gives every team a bye week during the course of the season, and, if you factor in no All*Star Break in Olympic years, we'd only be talking about a few extra off days they'd need to build into each team's schedule.)
So the owners got what they wanted in 2018 and the Olympic hockey tournament consisted mainly of Minor Leaguers and European professionals. That decision, however, wasn't made until the summer of 2017. The IOC and IIHF told the league that they needed much more notice this time. With the qualifying tournaments for the final three spots (nine have already been secured) set for this summer, they want to know if teams like Slovakia and Germany will have their NHLers available. As a result, they gave the league a summer deadline for a "yes" or "no."
At first, all indications were that it was unlikely NHL players would participate in Beijing. The league's issues regarding insurance, travel costs and the ability to cross-promote still existed, and their position wasn't going to change unless something else did. Well, according to Hockey Night In Canada's Elliotte Friedman, something HAS changed. The IOC and IIHF are apparently willing to meet the NHL's conditions (something they weren't willing to do in 2018), which has caused the NHL to rethink its position. Now, it looks like we may see NHL players in Beijing after all.
The NHL has been contradicting itself on Olympic participation for a while now. They complain about the disruption to the season that the Olympics causes, but also want to grow the NHL internationally. And there's no bigger untapped market than China! The NHL has been salivating at the idea of exposing its product to 1.4 billion potential Chinese fans ever since Beijing was awarded the 2022 Games. Even when they didn't go to PyeongChang, many experts thought it was just a one Olympic break before the NHL came back for Beijing.
With these recent developments, it appears those predictions many have been right after all. Now the big challenge might be getting the NHL and the NHLPA on the same page. The players' position hasn't changed. They want to go. Everyone knows that. Including the league. Which is why the owners want to make Olympic participation a talking point in the upcoming CBA negotiations. The players, however, aren't too receptive to that idea.
Their argument, which is a valid one, is that since the CBA doesn't expire until after the 2022 Olympics, that should have nothing to do with the negotiations. Working in Olympic participation in 2026, 2030, 2034, etc., sure. But 2022 falls under this CBA, not the new one, and shouldn't be tied to it.
Is an agreement between the owners and players that applies to just the 2022 Olympics possible? Of course. In fact, it's probably the most likely scenario. Especially if that's the only thing standing between the players and representing their countries in Beijing. Something that has gone from a pipe dream to a distinct possibility in a matter of days. It's what they want. They'll find a way to get it done.
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